Alert Ready Update (May 14, 2018)

We value the feedback that we’ve received regarding recent public safety test alerts and actual provincial emergency alerts. Please be assured that each message is being read and shared with the appropriate Alert Ready partner. Due to high volumes of emails, replies to individual messages are not possible at this time.

To check compatibility of your wireless device to receive public safety messages please check here and select your wireless provider from the drop down menu. ALL device compatibility inquiries must be directed to your wireless provider.

Wireless Test Update (May 10, 2018)

The test alerts scheduled for May 9th were successfully processed by the National Alert Aggregation and Dissemination System (NAAD System), part of the Alert Ready system. Managed by Pelmorex, the NAAD System delivers public alert messages issued by authorized government agencies to TV/radio/cable/satellite companies, and now, wireless service providers. It is then the responsibility of these Last Mile Distributors (LMDs) to deliver alert messages directly to Canadians.

Wireless service providers are working to identify any issues with compatible handsets. It is important to note that not all wireless devices are compatible and able to receive messages from Alert Ready. A device needs to be connected to an LTE network. Compatibility depends on many factors, including the handset and the software version on the device. You can check compatibility here, or with your carrier.

The intent of these tests is to validate all components of the Alert Ready system before an actual emergency. By running these tests, all Alert Ready partners get valuable information and feedback that will help improve the system. Canadians can feel confident the alerts will continue to be delivered via TV and radio.

What is Alert Ready?

Alert Ready is designed to deliver critical and potentially life-saving alerts to Canadians through television and radio. The Alert Ready system is developed in partnership with federal, provincial and territorial emergency management officials, Environment and Climate Change Canada, The Weather Network and the broadcasting industry and wireless service providers, to ensure you receive alerts immediately and know when to take action to keep yourself and your family safe.

Alert Tone

If you hear this tone on television, radio or your wireless device, please pay attention and take action right away.

What types of alerts are broadcast?

Government officials developed a specific list of the types of alerts that are considered a threat to life and should be "broadcast immediately" on television, radio and wireless devices. Below is a complete list and description of these alerts.

Urban Fire

Industrial Fire

A large fire in an industrial building or complex that poses a threat to human health.

Wildfire

A wildfire involves natural combustibles, such as grass, brush and trees.

Forest Fire

A Forest fire is a wildfire or prescribed fire that is burning in forested areas, grass or alpine/tundra vegetation and poses a threat to human safety.

Tornado

A tornado is a vortex of a violently rotating winds, often forming a funnel shaped cloud that is capable of damaging property and injuring people.

Flash Flood

Often occurring from river ice jams and excessive unexpected rainfall, a flash flood is the sudden onset of water causing immediate flooding. This event presents a unique danger to life and safety as there is little or no warning that this event will occur.

Earthquake

An earthquake is a sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust that creates seismic waves that can cause substantial damage, especially in urban environments.

Hurricane

Tsunami

A tsunami is a gravitational sea wave produced by a large-scale, short-duration disturbance of the ocean floor.

Thunderstorm

A thunderstorm is a storm of heavy rain accompanied by thunder and lightning that poses a threat to persons.

Storm Surge

A storm surge is abnormal rise in sea level accompanying an intense storm or hurricane that poses a threat to coastal areas.

Landslide

The general term for a wide variety of processes and landforms involving the down slope movement under the force of gravity of masses of soil and rock material, a landslide can threaten communities and infrastructure located in its path.

Dam Overflow

An overflowing or failing of a dam or reservoir that threatens downstream areas. An alert is issued only in the case of imminent flooding.

Magnetic Storm

A magnetic storm is a worldwide disturbance of the Earth’s magnetic field that can disable electronic devices and infrastructure.

Meteorite

A natural object of extraterrestrial origin (meteoroid) that passes through the atmosphere and hits the ground.

Lahar

Lahar is a flowing mixture of water-saturated rock debris that forms on the slopes of a volcano. Moving down slope under the force of gravity, lahar can threaten communities situated near the volcano.

Pyroclastic Flow

A pyroclastic flow is a high density flow of solid volcanic fragments suspended in gas that flows down slope from a volcanic vent and can threaten communities situated near the volcanos.

Pyroclastic Surge

A pyroclastic surge is a turbulent, low-density cloud of hot rock debris and gases that are ejected during a volcanic eruption that moves over the ground surface at a high speed.

Volcanic Ash

Volcanic ash is comprised of dust or particles emitted by a volcano during a eruption. Volcanic ash may remain suspended in the atmosphere for a long period of time.

Biological

A potentially dangerous and poisonous substance that is usually very unstable and can be easily transferred between living organisms.

Chemical

A chemical substance that, if misused or released, could result in serious injury or death.

Radiological

With sufficient concentration, a radiological substance.

Drinking Water Contamination

When water quality is negatively affected and a boil-water advisory may be raised, cautioning use by the public.

Explosive

A potentially dangerous substance or device that may explode.

Air Quality

A decrease in air quality is caused by an elevated particulate count in the atmosphere that can negatively affect visibility or the health of individuals.

Falling Object

Natural or human-made materials at risk of falling, which may threaten people or property.

Terrorist Threat

The use of violence or threats of violence by individuals or groups against civilians or infrastructure.

Civil Emergency

A civil emergency occurs when humans cause a disruption of services or require varying levels of support, law enforcement or attention.

Animal Danger

When a wild or domesticated animal poses a threat to human life or property.

Amber Alert

An Amber Alert is issued by police services when a child has been abducted and it is believed that his/her life is in grave danger. An Amber Alert provides the public with immediate and up-to-date information about the abduction and solicits the public’s help in the safe and swift return of the child.

911 Service

A 911 service alert happens when there is a disruption or outage of telecommunication services between the public and emergency responders.

Test Message

A test message may be issued for either public awareness or technical testing purposes.

Roles & Responsibilities

Each stakeholder has a unique and important role in the Alert Ready process.

Government Issuer

Specifies the type of alert [e.g. amber alert, tornado etc.] as well as whether it is to be broadcast immediately because of imminent threat to life

Chooses the content of the message, including which language(s) the message will be issued in

Chooses the format of the message, including whether the message will be sent as text only, audio only or in both text and audio formats

Specifies why and when the alert is sent

Ensures when the alert is updated and/or cancelled

Specifies the geographical areas covered by the alert

NAAD System

Pelmorex Corp. operates the National Alert Aggregation and Dissemination (NAAD) System

The NAAD System is a quick, efficient, and secure delivery of alert messages, as provided from the government issuer to TV/radio/cable/satellite companies by means of satellite and internet data feeds

Ensures full Canada-wide coverage of alert data feeds are available to last mile distributors (LMDs)

Alert Distributors

TV radio, cable/satellite and wireless providers are the Last Mile Distributors (LMDs) that deliver alert messages directly to Canadians over their broadcast and wireless communications platforms

Please note:

TV and cable/satellite broadcasters are responsible for the manner in which the message is broadcast. This includes colour, font, screen position of the text, and, in some cases, the audio presentation

TV and radio LMDs are expected to broadcast a message once, but may, at their discretion, repeat the message occasionally or keep it displayed until it is cancelled by the government issuer

Wireless LMDs broadcast a message once to each wireless device that is in, or enters, the alert area while the alert is valid.

TV and radio LMDs may use Text to Speech (TTS) to transcribe the text into speech for broadcast

Poor formatting of the message text by the government issuer can impact the quality of the TTS audio broadcast by the TV/radio/cable/satellite company

The Public

When an alert is heard, it is the responsibility of the public to stop, listen and respond as directed by the issuing authority and the alert message

Frequently Asked Questions

We have made it fast and easy for you to find helpful answers to your questions.

About Alert Ready

What is Alert Ready?

Alert Ready is designed to deliver critical and potentially life-saving alerts to Canadians through television and radio. The Alert Ready system is developed in partnership with federal, provincial and territorial emergency management officials, Environment and Climate Change Canada, The Weather Network and the broadcasting industry and wireless service providers, to ensure you receive alerts immediately and know when to take action to keep yourself and your family safe.

Federally, emergency alerts are issued most frequently by Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Each provincial or territorial government decides who will have the authority to issue alerts within their jurisdictions. For example, emergency alerts could be issued by provincial or territorial emergency management offices or in some cases by municipal emergency management offices or local police and fire departments.
Media companies, including television, radio stations, cable and satellite distributors, as well as websites receive these emergency alerts and relay them to their consumers.
Beginning April 6 2018, wireless service providers will be capable of distributing emergency alerts received from alerting authorities directly to their consumers’ compatible wireless devices connected to LTE networks using Cell Broadcast distribution.

What types of emergency alerts are issued via Alert Ready?

The Alert Ready system allows alerting authorities from federal, provincial and territorial governments to issue a wide range of public safety messages. However, broadcasters and wireless service providers are only required to distribute emergency alerts for situations that pose an immediate threat-to-life.

Government officials developed and agreed on a specific list of the types of alerts that are considered a threat-to-life and should be distributed immediately on television, radio and wireless devices. These “Broadcast Immediately” emergency alerts have the highest level of severity, urgency and certainty. For a full list, visit the Alert Types section of the website.
Issuing alerts outside of this list (for example heavy rainfall or blizzard warnings) is at the discretion of each of the broadcasters. Wireless service providers will only receive and relay messages that are issued for threat-to-life situations.

How do I know if the alerting authority in my area will issue emergency alerts?

Federally, emergency alerts are issued most frequently by Environment and Climate Change Canada. It is important to note that the federally-issued emergency alerts can reach your compatible wireless device in any part of the country even if your province/territory is not using the Alert Ready system.

What are the different ways I will receive emergency alerts?

You can currently expect to receive emergency alerts via Canadian radio and TV, cable and satellite operators. As early as April 6 2018, emergency alerts will also be sent to compatible wireless devices connected to LTE networks.

Can I choose which way an emergency alert is sent to me?

No. Regulations require all commercial, campus, community and Indigenous radio and television broadcasters, cable, satellite and IPTV providers, as well as wireless service providers to distribute emergency alerts.

There is no sign-up or opt-in required. Emergency alerts will be automatically sent through these broadcast channels, and to your compatible wireless device.
You cannot opt out of receiving threat-to-life emergency alerts.

What do emergency alerts look and sound like?

Emergency alerts, on radio, television and compatible wireless devices, begin with a distinct sound, known as the Canadian Alert Attention Signal. Emergency alerts sent to WPA-compatible wireless devices will also cause the phone to vibrate. The sound and vibration conveys a sense of urgency and reinforces the alert message. For an example of the Alert Attention Signal, click here.

On television and radio, the emergency alert sound will be followed by an automated message with the emergency alert details. On television, the emergency alert details in text will be presented either as a full screen or a crawler section at the top or bottom of the screen.

On compatible wireless devices, the emergency alert will display an “EMERGENCY ALERT/ALERTE D’URGENCE” banner, followed by text that describes the situation and provides instructions on what actions to take and where to find more information. At the top of each emergency alert, the issuing government agency will be clearly indicated.

Will emergency alerts be sent out in different languages?

Alert Ready supports emergency alerts in both English and French. However, the language used for alerts is determined by each alerting authority. Generally, alerting authorities will issue emergency alerts based on the official language requirements of their organization or jurisdiction. Broadcasters and wireless service providers pass on emergency alert text exactly how it is received from the alerting authority.

Are emergency alerts available in alternate formats to accommodate the visually and hearing impaired?

Yes, alternate formats can be issued, but not every alerting authority or every device will have the capacity to produce alternate formats. For example, emergency alerts distributed via radio and TV broadcast can include an audio file version of the text portion of the emergency alert message if one is provided by alerting authorities. If audio files are not provided, broadcasters may use text-to-speech software to create an audio version of the message. For emergency alerts distributed via compatible wireless devices, emergency alerts may be read to the recipient if their device supports this accessibility feature. The vibration feature that accompanies emergency alerts sent to compatible wireless devices will help to make hearing impaired people aware of the alerts.

Will emergency alerts be for my specific area?

Yes. The alerting authority determines what areas are affected by an incident, weather or environmental situation, and uses a standard system that will typically correspond with municipal, regional or provincial boundaries. The standardized system will allow participating radio, television, cable and satellite companies to broadcast the emergency alerts that are most relevant to the communities they serve.

Emergency alerts intended for wireless devices are issued to a defined geographic area, which can be as small as a few city blocks, so that only people in the defined area receive the emergency alerts. Compatible wireless devices in the targeted area will receive the emergency alerts within seconds of being issued, provided the phones are powered on and connected to the LTE cellular network.

What should I do if I receive an emergency alert?

Upon receiving the emergency alert it is important to take action safely. Alerting authorities will include, within the emergency alert, the information you need for any action you need to take. This could include but is not limited to: limit unnecessary travel, evacuate the areas, shelter-in-place, etc.

Will emergency alerts interrupt scheduled television and radio broadcast programming?

Yes. On television, a crawl across the top or bottom of the screen or a full-page display is expected for most emergency alerts. The exact manner in which emergency alerts will be broadcast is left to the discretion of the local television broadcaster, cable or satellite distributor.

Radio programming is interrupted by a recorded voice or text-to-speech voice announcing the situation.

How will I know when an emergency alert has ended?

Alerting authorities may choose to distribute an “all-clear” message at their discretion once the situation has been resolved. The all-clear message would be distributed via broadcast services at their discretion but will not be sent to wireless devices.

As part of an emergency alert message, alerting authorities must also set a time when they expect the alert to expire. The expiry time is different from the “all-clear” message, as it is set in advance and does not necessarily indicate when an emergency is over. Because each emergency alert issued requires that an expiry date and time be included, alerting authorities estimate when they think the alert will need to be updated or cancelled.

Are a lot of emergency alerts being issued?

The amount and type of emergency alerts vary by jurisdiction. Emergency alerts for threat-to-life situations are infrequent.

Will multiple emergency alerts be generated for the same event if sent by multiple alerting authorities?

This situation is very unlikely. Emergency management officials are experts in their fields and coordinate activities, including public alerting, very closely and will be monitoring emergency alerts issued by neighboring jurisdictions.

What type of security is in place so that I know the emergency alerts are being sent by an authorized agency?

The operator of the Alert Ready system and government officials at all levels take security very seriously.
In addition to the security measures that government agencies take every day to ensure access to their system is by authorized personnel only, additional passwords and user identification is needed for users of the Alert Ready system. Separately, Pelmorex Weather Networks (Television) Inc., the operator of the Alert Ready system, has additional measures in place to prevent unauthorized access.

I work with emergency management, the police or fire department, how can we access Alert Ready and distribute messages to our community?

Each province and territory has signed on to the Alert Ready program. Please contact your provincial or territorial Emergency Management Office for public alerting information specific to your region.

Device Compatibility

Will all wireless devices receive emergency alerts?

No. In order for emergency alerts to be received on a wireless device three conditions must be met.

The wireless device must be:

An LTE-device like a smartphone (LTE is commonly referred to as “4G LTE”);

Wireless public alerting (WPA)-compatible; and

Connected to an LTE cellular network at the time the emergency alert is issued.

If you have any more questions about Device Compatibility, click here!

What does it mean to have a wireless device that is WPA-compatible?

A wireless device that is WPA-compatible is (1) an LTE-device, and (2) has special software embedded in it which allows for messages sent by your service provider, via Cell Broadcast, to be received in the standard Alert Ready format.

Emergency alerts that meet the Alert Ready format allow you to know when an alert is received (because of the sound and vibration), and also provides confirmation that it is issued by a legitimate sources.

Visit the Wireless section of AlertReady.ca to find a link to the section of your wireless service provider’s website that provides information on compatible devices.

Wireless service providers are required to distribute Emergency alerts to compatible smartphones that can access LTE (cellular) networks. Additional wireless devices – such as tablets and wearable accessories (e.g. smartwatches) – may be capable, from a technical perspective, to receive some form of the message, but it will not necessarily be received on the device in the Alert Ready format.

For information on compatible wireless devices offered by your wireless service provider, visit the Wireless section of AlertReady.ca.

Alert Appearance/Sound

Are these emergency alerts sent as a text message?

No. While the emergency alert may look like a text message it is not a text message.
Emergency alerts are sent via Cell Broadcast distribution. Cell Broadcast is a mobile technology that allows messages to be broadcast to all compatible wireless devices within a designated geographical area. Cell Broadcast is designed for simultaneous message delivery to multiple users in a specified area, and is not affected by network congestion because it uses dedicated part of the network, separate from that used for traditional voice and data traffic.

Cell Broadcast can be compared to radio broadcast. Radio towers broadcast music to people in defined geographic areas as long as the individuals can pick-up the broadcast signal and have their radios turned on. Cell Broadcast messages similarly are delivered to those compatible wireless devices that are within range of cell towers and antennas in the designated area. Location services do not have to be enabled on your wireless device to be able to receive alerts.

Will emergency alerts interrupt or end a voice-call or another activity in progress?

Emergency alerts will not end or terminate a voice call or data session in progress.
If you are on a voice-call when the emergency alert is received, you will be made aware of the alert by a notification tone (similar to call waiting). When your call terminates the alert will be displayed on your wireless device.

If you are on a data session, your session will continue but it may be briefly interrupted by the emergency alert appearing on your wireless device screen.

Will I receive an emergency alert if my wireless device is off or set to silent?

A compatible wireless device that is turned off will not display an emergency alert. If the emergency alert is still active when the wireless device is powered on, and the user is still in the alert area, the wireless device will then display the alert.

A compatible wireless device that is set to silent will display an emergency alert, but you might not hear the emergency alert sound. The emergency alert sound will usually play at whatever the current volume setting is on the wireless device, so if your wireless device is set to silent, no sound will accompany the emergency alert message. However, this behaviour can differ depending on your wireless device and in some instances the alert sound may override your user settings.

Why do some emergency alerts display with a banner that says “Presidential Alert”?

Wireless public alerts use an international standard and the broadcast channel that is often called “Presidential Alert” in the United States. Governments and private sector partners have worked with Canadian wireless service providers to use the term “EMERGENCY ALERT / ALERTE D’URGENCE”, as identified in version 2.0 of the National Public Alerting System Common Look and Feel Guidance, published on March 29, 2018. However, some phones pre-dating this guidance, or that were either purchased outside of Canada or manufactured to be compatible with the U.S. Wireless Emergency Alerts system, will use the American international standard and will display “Presidential Alert”, or another non-Canadian headline banner.

Taking Action (e.g. What to do when you receive an alert)

What should I do if I receive a test alert on my wireless device?

Test alert messages will be identified as such. These messages are intended to “test” the functionality of the system, and inform consumers of wireless emergency alerts, and do not require consumers to take steps to secure their safety.

You may be required to acknowledge receipt of the emergency alert in order to allow for your wireless device to resume normal functioning. In the event that you cannot acknowledge the alert, the alert sound and vibration will continue for 8 seconds. Depending on your specific wireless device, additional reminders may occur.

What should I do if I receive an emergency alert on my wireless device?

Upon receiving the emergency alert it is important to take action safely. Stop what you are doing when it is safe to do so and read the emergency alert. Alerting authorities will include, within the emergency alert, the information you need for any action you need to take. This could include but is not limited to: limit unnecessary travel, evacuate the areas, seek shelter, etc.

What should I do if I receive an emergency alert on my wireless device while driving?

It is important to take action safely, especially if the emergency alert is received while operating a vehicle. If you are driving, it is important to remain calm and pull over at your earliest opportunity to view the emergency alert.

When will I receive Alerts

If my wireless device is off for an extended period of time, will the emergency alert appear once I turn my phone back on?

If the emergency alert is still active when the compatible wireless device is turned back on, and you are within the emergency alert area, the emergency alert will be displayed. If the emergency alert is no longer active or if you have travelled outside of the alert area, it will not be displayed.

Will I receive an emergency alert if my phone is connected to Wi-Fi?

While on Wi-Fi, if the compatible wireless device can still communicate with the LTE cellular network, it will receive emergency alerts. If the wireless device is not within reach of the LTE cellular network (or is set to Wi-Fi only) it will not receive an emergency alert.

Can I opt out of receiving emergency alerts on my wireless device?

No. Emergency alerts received on your compatible wireless device are relevant to you and require immediate attention, and government regulations mandate that all compatible wireless devices receive all relevant alerts.

Unlike radio and television broadcasting, which often has broad areas of coverage; wireless public alerting is geo-targeted and can be very specific to a limited area of coverage. As a result, if an emergency alert reaches your wireless device, you are located in an area where there is an imminent danger.

Will I still receive wireless emergency alerts if cellular towers are affected by the situation?

Emergency alerts are broadcast from cellular towers and antennas within the area specified by the alert issuer. Compatible wireless devices connected to the specified towers/antennas will receive the emergency alert. The towers/antennas therefore must be operational to send emergency alerts. If you are in an affected area but your wireless device is unable to connect to any towers/antennas because of the situation, you will not receive the emergency alert on your wireless device.

Where will I receive Alerts

Will I receive emergency alerts on my wireless device if I’m travelling to another province or territory within Canada?

Yes. Emergency alerts are issued to a defined geographic area, such that only people in the defined area will receive the emergency alerts. If you are travelling and happen to be in another province when an emergency alert is issued, your compatible wireless device will receive the emergency alert within seconds of being issued, provided your phone is powered on and connected to the LTE cellular network. There is no need to enable the location services on your wireless device to receive alerts.

Will I receive emergency alerts on my wireless device relevant to where I live while I am travelling away from home?

No. If you are travelling, you will only receive emergency alerts that occur where you are.
You can keep track of emergency alerts occurring in specific areas (e.g. where they or other family members live) through a number of available apps and online services.

Cost/Privacy

Will I be charged if I receive an emergency alert on my wireless device if I don’t have unlimited texting or data within my mobile plan?

Wireless alerts are sent on a specific cellular channel that is separate from normal text and data traffic. While the alerts may look like text messages, they are not text messages and are not billed like text messages.

Also, emergency alerts are sent to wireless devices in a specific geographic area and do not require the phone numbers of those devices. As such there is no ability to identify or bill for the messages that are received.

Will alerts sent to my wireless device be used to gather data about me?

No. Emergency alerts are sent using Cell Broadcast distribution. Cell Broadcast can only transmit information to your wireless device. This means that no data is being gathered about you, your wireless device or your location when emergency alerts are sent out.

Alert Information & Testing Schedule

Alert Ready Update (May 14, 2018)

We value the feedback that we’ve received regarding recent public safety test alerts and actual provincial emergency alerts. Please be assured that each message is being read and shared with the appropriate Alert Ready partner. Due to high volumes of emails, replies to individual messages are not possible at this time.

To check compatibility of your wireless device to receive public safety messages please check here and select your wireless provider from the drop down menu. ALL device compatibility inquiries must be directed to your wireless provider.

Wireless Test Update (May 10, 2018)

The test alerts scheduled for May 9th were successfully processed by the National Alert Aggregation and Dissemination System (NAAD System), part of the Alert Ready system. Managed by Pelmorex, the NAAD System delivers public alert messages issued by authorized government agencies to TV/radio/cable/satellite companies, and now, wireless service providers. It is then the responsibility of these Last Mile Distributors (LMDs) to deliver alert messages directly to Canadians.

Wireless service providers are working to identify any issues with compatible handsets. It is important to note that not all wireless devices are compatible and able to receive messages from Alert Ready. A device needs to be connected to an LTE network. Compatibility depends on many factors, including the handset and the software version on the device. You can check compatibility here, or with your carrier.

The intent of these tests is to validate all components of the Alert Ready system before an actual emergency. By running these tests, all Alert Ready partners get valuable information and feedback that will help improve the system. Canadians can feel confident the alerts will continue to be delivered via TV and radio.

To learn more about how emergency alerts are broadcast in your region, when a test alert will take place and other resources please select from the list below.

Environment and Climate Change Canada

View current alerts

We're here to talk.

Please complete this form to help us best direct your inquiry to the appropriate Alert Ready stakeholder. Your questions or comments may be directed to any of the organizations involved in the Alert Ready system, so it is important that your information is accurate and complete.